Scars of War
by fencejumper89
Summary: A new life begins for Liesel and Max. After the wounds of war heal, the scars remain...
1. Chapter 1

More than a year had passed since Max had found Liesel in the tailor's shop that belonged to Alex Steiner. After they hugged and cried and fell to the floor both realized that they would never let each other go again. They were completely alone in the world, each one the last known survivor of their families. The Hermanns had sheltered Liesel after Himmel Street had been bombed and her world had crumbled all around her. She had dropped school and started to work with Alex Steiner and at her sixteenth birthday she decided to find her own place. The Hermanns owned a small apparent in Molching which they had decided to rent to Liesel for very little money when she left their house. They had been very kind to her.  
Ilsa Hermann visited her from time to time and often brought her books and cookies, which they shared together with a cup of coffee.  
When Max showed up in Molching Liesel was 17 already. He was 28 and still very frail and thin. He had searched for his family and found out the worst. Completely alone as he was, he travelled back to Molching to look for the Hubermanns and the book thieving girl.  
The same day they were reunited, Max moved in with Liesel. 


	2. Chapter 2

Years had passed since they last saw each other that terrible day on Munich Street. Max found Liesel almost a woman now, although at 17 she was still a child. The war had made her an adult before time, but some traces of innocence were still there. She still loved books, although she didn't steal them anymore...and she loved Max...  
The appartment had only one bedroom and since both refused to let the other one sleep in the hall, they placed there two small beds and separated them with a bedside table. Together they painted the walls and arranged some curtains. Ilsa Hermann was very happy when she visited and found out Max had survived, knowing how much Liesel had prayed and cried for him. She brought for them some food and warm blankets for the winter. Her love for them had probably something to do with the fact that she had noone else to take care of. She was glad to help.  
The first night together was terrible. Screams and sobs woke Liesel in the middle of her sleep. "What is it Max? Are you hurt? Are you sick?", the girl didn't know how to help him. She felt his forehead, but he was not warm. So Liesel just held him against her chest. She remembered the small chocolate bar she had been saving in her drawer. She unwrapped it and offered it to Max trying to comfort him. He smiled weakly as Liesel broke it and fed him a piece. "Sorry I woke you, Liesel. It was only a bad dream, that's all..." She held him in her arms until he was asleep. Then she carefully laid him down and covered him. Liesel would get no rest that night, lying awake in her bed, watching Max sleep and wondering what he dreamed of. 


	3. Chapter 3

After a few days Max started to eat better, although he could only have small portions each time. Otherwise his stomach would not contain it. He had starved for too long.  
His hair started to look like feathers again and some colour was slowly returning to his face. As he regained his strength, he got out looking for work. Ilsa Hermann knew people at the local bank and arranged for Max to meet them. She gave him a nice blue suit and a white shirt that had once belonged to her dead son. It made Max feel guilty, to accept so much from this kind woman, but he was grateful and he hugged her very tight when she told him he could keep the clothes. Max got a job that did not pay well but it was better than he had expected and hopefully someday he would get a promotion if he just worked hard enough.  
After all he was still no more than a Jew. And although Hitler was dead and the war over, Jews were still disliked or even harrased by many germans and low wages were a natural consequence of that.  
Liesel could not tell exactly, but she estimated that the first time she saw Max all put together in that pretty suit she noticed just how handsome he was. As for Max, he was completely taken away by Liesel. It was that special beauty of a creature that is not a child anymore but still not a woman either. They both did their best to give the other enough privacy but having to share the bedroom sure made it difficult. Nontheless, neither of them seemed upset about that.  
Max was confused about this new feelings, after all Liesel was much too young for him. He had seen her grow up and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her or scare her off.

Those feelings grew day by day. Both could tell...they knew. But it was like they had made a silent pact not to say it out loud. Their new life together felt like the first days of spring after a tough winter. Like flowers growing out of the hopeless rubble.

They worked hard to get by. None of them partcullarly liked their jobs, but they sure didn't hate them either. They just waited for the afternoon to end just to rush home and enjoy the evenings together. They would sit and read and talk and sometimes try to cook, although they were not more skilled than Rosa Hubermann.  
But nights were long and cruel. Max's nightmares came frequently and everytime he wept it broke Liesel's heart. And she wondered how many more times it could afford to break until there was no more mending. Max refused to speak of his dreams and that made it even harder for Liesel, but she respected that and did not insist on asking. After all, surviving the camps was expected to be traumatising...

Her own sleep was also full of ghosts. She dreamed of the bombs and the dead bodies of her family. She never screamed, she did not want to disturb Max's sleep. Instead she was filled with profound sadness when she woke up Papa's image was the one that tore her heart apart more than any other of the visions. 


	4. Chapter 4

It was one of the coldest winter days. Max had to work only until 5 pm on fridays but Liesel had a day off. The afternoon was dark and it snowed and snowed as if the world was trying to pull a white blanket over itself to get warm. Liesel decided to spend the time cleaning the appartent. She took special care polishing the shelf where they placed their books. They were their most beloved treasures and with great love Liesel cleaned the dust from each one of them. She kissed the covers from The Standover Man and The Word Shaker. It was about 6pm when Liesel finally finished. She had not noticed the hours pass so fast and when she looked at the clock she quickly took to light a fire in the chimney so the appartment could be at least a little warm when Max came home. She sat down on the couch and read. The snow had stopped and now an intense rain was coming down instead. Liesel began to worry, Max should be home two hours ago. As she put down her book she heard the door knock and rushed to open it. Max stood there soaked from head to toe and shaking terribly. "God Max, what happened?" She closed the door and took Max's bag and the dripping coat off his shoulders.  
"You will freeze we must get you dry".  
Max sat down on a chair and Liesel helped him remove his wet shoes and the woolen scarf she had knitted for him.  
"I'm alright. I just missed the last train and had to walk", he said and reached her a small paper bag with two small portionsof Liesel's favorite chocolate cake. "I wanted to give you a little surprise." Liesel took the bag and hugged Max very tight. He was cold.  
"Thank you Max" she said with a bright smile.  
Max changed into dry clothes and Liesel sent him to bed right away. Then she changed into her own pijamas and brought a plate to bed with both pieces of cake. She ate hers very slow as to enjoy better every little bit of it. Even now such things were a luxury and she knew Max had probably worked extra hours to afford it. Max himself only ate a mouthful, he was not hungry. As his tired eyes fought not to close, Liesel grabbed an extra blanket and tucked him in. She kissed him goodnight and they were both fast asleep, still smiling from the taste of the glorious chocolate 


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Max was sick. As she usually did on weekends, Liesel had brought breakfast to bed. She placed the tray next to the bed and greeted Max with a bright smile. But she immediately noticed that Max wasn't feeling well. He had still no appetite and there was a high colour in his cheeks. Liesel stroke back his hair and pressed her lips softly against his forehead. "I think you have a fever, Max".  
Liesel took the thermometer from the drawer and shook it down. "May I-?" She sat on the bedside, pulled the blanket down, opened the top buttons from Max's shirt and held the thermometer under his armpit for a few minutes. Max was very warm. She watched his swampy eyes and his feathery hair and couldn't help glancing at him. Even being ill he looked beautiful. Her cheeks blushed when he smiled back. She remembered to remove the thermometer and suddenly her face was stretched with concern. Max's temperature was at 38,5ºC. "Jesus Max, you're burning...Stay in bed, I'll be right back", she said and covered him. She remembered how sick he had been at the Hubermann's house and how desperate those weeks had been for all of them. Back then they could not call a doctor for obvious reasons. Liesel searched for the small wooden box where she kept some savings and counted the coins. "It should be enough..."she thought.

Dr. Brugger was a frequent client at the Steiner shop. Liesel knew he lived only a few blocks away. The weather was as unfriendly as it had been the day before, but Dr. Brugger was a good man in his late 60s and he agreed to go with the girl. "Max wake up", she said softly "the doctor's here to check on you".  
Max sat up slowly, he was dazed from the fever. But suddenly his eyes flung open at the sight of the man in the white robe. Max's heart began to race and it was as if he had seen a ghost. 


	6. Chapter 6

He desperately grabbed Liesel's hand squeezing it painfully, not moving his eyes from the stranger in his bedroom. "It's alright Max, he's a friend" Liesel tried to calm him but she was scared herself now. Dr. Brugger approached the bed and sat down next to Max. "Don't be afraid, son. I won't hurt you" he said.  
He carefully rolled up the sleeve from Max's shaking arm to feel his pulse. The old man sighed deeply at the sight of the small numbers tattooed on Max's wrist. He closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed hard. Then he looked at the terrified Jew and said "I'm not that kind of doctor"

Liesel felt the grip of Max's hand loosen up a bit. Confused as she was, she looked at him and the doctor and she was quick to assemble the puzzle. She could tell from the fear in Max's eyes that this was what he saw in his nightmares... All the sudden she felt nauseaus and she desperately wanted to cry, but she held Max's hand through the whole examination. Dr. Brugger had Max's temperature taken once more. It had climbed over 39ºC.  
In the hall he spoke to Liesel, diagnosing a pneumonia. He refused to accept payment. "He needs to stay in bed for a few days" he explained "If you need anything you know where to find me". She thanked him and closed the door behind him.

At that moment her legs gave in and she crumbled to the floor. Tears streamed down her face and she bit her own arm to drown the sobs. She had heard horrifying rumours about medical experiments in the camps... 


	7. Chapter 7

She couldn't and didn't want to know what they could possibly have done to him.  
And she cried for this kind man that she loved. She cried remembering Rosa and Hans who had come to love Max as a son, even starving themselves so that he could eat and risking their lives to keep him safe. Max, the man with the soft hands, that had written for her the loveliest stories...her Max, who she treasured above anything else in the entire world... She had prayed every night for him to be safe. And those people had beaten him and taken him as a lab rat, as a piece of worthless trash, hurting and humiliating him...what sick world was this?

In the bedroom Max was leaning against the pillows, still shaking. Everything was suddenly back and more alive than ever since he had been liberated from the camps. He could hear the screams again, he saw the soldiers with their whips and the doctors with their needles. He felt hot tears comming down his face and before he knew, he was openly crying.

How would Liesel or anyone else ever love him? He was nothing more than a wrecked man, stripped of his dignity,afraid of the world and now he was weeping as a child. He wept for Liesel, the beautiful girl, this angel that had been sent to save him. The only person in the world that cared about him. She had been so courageous to hold him back then on Munich Street, she had even taken the soldier's whipping for him and she had not cried. She was incredibly strong and he was so weak. She deserved better than this...and yet he loved her desperately. 


	8. Chapter 8

The coldness of the floor and a sob that was not her own shook Liesel back to reality. She wiped her face and rushed back to the bedroom. Max's cheeks were stained with tears. Liesel sat on the bed, she tenderly cleaned his face with a tissue and hugged his shaking body. "Please don't cry Max...I'm sorry", she said containing her own tears "I'm sorry for everything my people did to you..."  
Gently she stroke his feathery hair until he calmed down and she gave him the sweetest kiss on the cheek. "You don't have to tell me anything, but if you ever feel like you want to, you can. I'm always here for you".  
She looked into his beautiful, glassy eyes "I love you, Max". Those words that had lingered on the tip of her tongue for so long had finally slipped away.

"I love you, Liesel" he said looking into her sad eyes, not sure if he jad actually said it or if he was dreaming it. He was too weak to hold his own weight and he dropped back to the pillows with a smile on his lips. And Liesel also smiled, she smiled because she loved Max Vandenburg and he loved her back

Those little words had just changed their entire lives...  



	9. Chapter 9

Medicines were still very hard to find and very expensive. All Liesel could do was placing a wet towel on Max's forehead and pulling the blankets down to his waist to help his body cool down.

Max was too weak to stay awake and Liesel let him sleep for the rest of the day while she sat close to him reading. It was a book called "The secrets of dawn".  
She came to the final paragraph:  
...Together they whitnessed the first light of the day. And although the stars were fainting, they knew they would always remain there, unmoved and disregarding all glory of terror what might stirr the world beneath them...

Moved by those words, she lifted herself and very quietly brought a few paint cans into the room. She chose the wall in front of the beds and applied a coat light blue.  
Papa had taught her very well how to create more colours. She mixed it to get a darker blue and painted the top of the wall dark blue and gradually lighter until the bottom, where it was a very pale blue.  
She only had white paint left and that was a good thing indeed, she thought, for yellow stars might not be very appropriate. Yellow stars, she sadly realized, would never again be just stars.

So she painted many white stars on the top half of the wall. Some big and others small. And with a very thin brush she wrote names below some of the stars. They were called Hans and Rosa, Rudy and Werner, and Paula and Rachel, like their mothers... 


	10. Chapter 10

Max slept until the next morning. It was sunday.

He looked to his side but didn't find Liesel. She had removed the bedside table and the two beds were united now to one. Max searched his tired mind remembering the events of the previous day.

Then his eyes wandered to the wall with Liesel's piece of art in front of him. He smiled when he saw it and his smile grew bigger with the discovery of each one of the names.

Liesel walked in still in her night gown.  
"How are you feeling Max?", she asked, sitting down next to him. The fever seemed to have dropped.  
"Better" he replied looking at her. "It's for you..." she said "so they all can watch over you in your sleep..."  
"Thank you Liesel" he said, holding her hand and kissing it softly. She moved closer to him and ever so delicately she kissed his lips. They were soft and gentle. He replied the kiss on Liesel's sweet, pink lips.

And it was as if everything suddenly had a different colour. Everything around them was beauty...no space for tears or sorrow.

It was the first kiss of a new life and it was the first kiss of many more that they would give to each other and steal from each other that very same day.

Wars, like nothing else, have a way of breaking people's souls. They burn and hurt and they devastate everything on their way.  
And although scars will forever remain, love, like no other thing in this world, can heal the wounds of war... 


	11. Chapter 11

For everyone who liked Scars of War, I have posted the second part of it as a separate story.

Check out Scars of War Part II: What Do You See In Me?

Reviews are more than appreciated!

Thank you for reading!


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